Opinions on the fate of Drogheda’s D Hotel diverged on the streets of the Co Louth town on Thursday afternoon, after it emerged earlier this week that the hotel will be converted into an accommodation centre for up to 500 international protection (IP) applicants from March 5th.
In a statement released on Thursday, the owners of the hotel – referred to as Fairkeep Ltd in the statement – confirmed that they had “entered into an agreement” with the Department of Integration for the housing of IP applicants for the next two years. The D Hotel is Drogheda’s largest hotel, with 113 beds.
“The D Hotel was built 25 years ago and the intentions of the owners is to reinvest the funds paid to them from this contract directly into renovating the hotel,” the statement read.
The Department confirmed the arrangement on Wednesday, stating that it has “responded to an offer of accommodation” made in respect of the hotel.
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Gleann Hospitality, the previous owners of the hotel, recorded profits of €1.07 million in 2022, according to company filings.
Cllr Michelle Hall, a former mayor of Drogheda, said that the main concern surrounding the conversion of the hotel related to the impact on tourism.
“We are planning a lot of our economy around tourism – if we don’t have a large-scale hotel, how are we going to do that?” she said, speaking to The Irish Times on Thursday.
Cllr Hall questioned whether the Government had considered other options for housing IP applicants in the town. “There are so many vacant properties in Drogheda.”
Trevor Connolly, chief executive of Love Drogheda BID, a company engaged in improving Drogheda as a retail and hospitality destination, echoed some of Cllr Hall’s concerns.
If you don’t have your visitor euros and dollars coming in, there’s cafes, there’s retailers, there’s a whole host of other businesses that are being impacted, not just the other night within the hotel itself
— Trevor Connolly
Sitting in his Meat Market Lane office on Thursday afternoon, Mr Connolly said that the loss of the D Hotel’s 113 beds would have a severe impact on the town’s local economy.
“We are the largest town in the country, population-wise and we are under-served in terms of visitor accommodation for the location that we are,” he said.
He noted that the town has received considerable funding from Fáilte Ireland in recent times. Mr Connolly noted that the decision to turn the hotel into an accommodation centre was at odds with the town’s push to become a thriving tourist destination.
“If you don’t have your visitor euros and dollars coming in, there’s cafes, there’s retailers, there’s a whole host of other businesses that are being impacted, not just the other night within the hotel itself,” he said.
“What we are asking, and the request to the minister is, that [the Department] considers their proposals in relation to the removal and the impact of the removal of viable accommodation in towns that are already under-served by that.”
Standing outside Tesco on West Street on Thursday afternoon, Gemma Byrne (46), from Drogheda, said that the conversion of the hotel into an accommodation centre was a “non-issue”.
“I think it’s a private business, and if it’s a business decision, that’s perfectly within the rights of the people who own it. I don’t think we have a say - if I own something, I don’t think the town should have a say in what I do or don’t do with it,” she said.
“I have absolutely no issue with people from other countries coming into our town, and I totally disagreed with people protesting against it,” she added.
PJ Collins (75), from nearby Laytown, said he feared the risk of far-right activists targeting the hotel. “My biggest worry would be that if this far right crowd would try to burn it down. I’d hate to see that. There’s no need, destroying good buildings,” Mr Collins said, standing outside of St Peter’s Church, in the town centre.
I think that the Government have handled the situation very badly in the way they’re giving information, but I do think that asylum seekers need to be housed somewhere
— Ciara Nally
Mr Collins said that the Government should implement more rigorous “vetting system”, but generally, he had no problem with asylum seekers coming to Ireland.
“The people themselves, men, women and children, that’s coming – God love them, they’re fleeing from something,” he said.
“I would have no issues, and I don’t think most of the people in Drogheda would.”
Ciara Nally, from Balbriggan, said that she also feared the prospect of far-right agitators hijacking concerns of local people relating to the conversion of the hotel. Ms Nally, who regularly shops in Drogheda, claimed that the Government’s communication strategy has played into the hands of far-rights groups.
“I think that the Government have handled the situation very badly in the way they’re giving information, but I do think that asylum seekers need to be housed somewhere,” she said, also standing close to the church. “I think that the reaction against them, a lot of it has been fed by a far-right group.”
Asylum seekers, for the most part, are “genuine people who need housing”, she said.
Jacqueline Halpenny (60), from Duleek in Co Meath, said that the housing of international protection applicants at the hotel was wrong.
“I think people are getting so fed up of this country doing so much for others,” she said, sitting on a bench on West Street with her shopping bags. “It all boils down to neglecting our own.”
She said she had “nothing against” IP applicants – but that in her view, homeless Irish people should be housed first.
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